S o r r o w
by Monogatari Rockets
Summary: When Quan stumbled across a young boy, his face in shadows, his eyes glowing bright yellow, he thought his life could becoming meaningful once again. What was the boy? Where had he come from? Perhaps he could make a good stew out of home one day...?


**_- prologue -_**

_May the links bond together… and the beauty become the chain that is my life…_

* * *

Out of the darkness. Out of the eternal sleep from which he had never woken from before. Well, not that he knew of. _Had_ he woken before? He… could not remember anything…

He had no memories… no dreams before this point. No knowledge. No reality.

No life…

His eyes opened. The light was shocking for a few moments, the golden rays of the sun beaming brightly down upon his uncovered face. What he was lying on was… soft, yet prickly. Feathered yet brittle. Squinting his eyes, adjusting his large, glowing pupils, and attempting to regain – or, in fact, gain – feeling within his entire body, he wearily moved his arm across the tops of this comfort, grazing the tops of the small, blades of grass with the back of his hand. Yet… he could not feel them. His hand was covered.

Lifting his head to gaze at the small body resting on its back, upwards to the glistening blue sky of day, he noticed the stitched waistcoat he was wearing, the striped, baggy trousers around his legs, the boots warming his feet, and the gloves covering his hands.

_What…?_

He brought his elbows to his sides, lifting his torso – itself still slightly weak – gradually of the earth. Rubbing his eyes and examining his surroundings, he noticed the place he was in. Miles of grassland, and the mountains in the distance, with the 'distance' seeming to be all around. He was beside a small, gray, stone cliff which overlooked his current position. And from that rock face entered the bittersweet sound of trickling water. Flowing down the smooth stone it entered the pool beneath it, the pool that had been naturally dug out by the wonders of the world.

_What is…?_

He, very slowly, managed to scramble to his feet, having to put out his hand and lean against the wall as he lost balance when standing at his highest.

Had he… had he not even _stood_ before?

Putting his hand on his forehead he eyed his surroundings once more. He felt like he had a headache, yet he did not. He felt like he should know of the things all around, yet he did not. He felt like she should remember life before this point, yet he did not.

He felt like he should remember life…

_But I don't…_

He shuffled his feet slightly to the side, only to notice them bump into something soft resting upon the grass itself. Carefully stooping down he picked up the tattered, pointy hat up off the ground and held it in front of his face.

_Should this have come off…?_

The sound of the running water caught his attention once again and he turned to face the glistening spring which beckoned unto his presence just a few metres away.

_It's… beautiful…_

Could he bring himself to gaze into the waters? Could he bring himself to see what his reflection would give back to him?

He placed one foot in front of the other and lightly placed the hat upon his head.

He walked onwards, with his back to the water…

* * *

_The flower is of the ballad of the earth… as my knowledge is the heart of naivety…_

* * *

The sun was still beating down. The heat was obvious. Yet the young boy did not slow his pace, not that it was remotely quick to begin with,

His tall hat gently flapping within the soft, oncoming breeze of the far away mountains and his boots kicking up the dirt underneath his feet, the trek the young traveller had taken was shrouded with nothing but confusion, aggravation and pure mystification.

_Where am I…?_

His feet continued. He was not tired yet. With eyes fixed on the ground, not bothered as to where the lands were taking him, he stretched onwards.

_…Who am I…?_

His practically glided through the grass, the blades just reaching the height of his ankles, and he raised his head from the gaze he the ground to absorb, once again, the world around him.

_Forests…!_

He could see them not that far in the distance, closer than the mountains and scattered about the land as if they had been placed there by an ephemeral force who was the omniscient architect of the fantasy about him.

Here he was. A boy with no past, no present, and no future of that knew. No memories, no dreams, and nothing in his heart. Yet…

_What is a heart…?_

My god, he knew nothing.

* * *

_Enlighten the transient angel… May the fabled essence be my guide… The spirit of destiny…_

* * *

It was still bright in the day, and the sun still floated at a high point within the "floating blue sea" that was painted high above the bewildered young boy's head.

_It… looks like a sea. But it's not, is it…?_

He must have woken in the morning, and he could've understood that if he actually knew what "morning" was. The grass still shone, sparkling, lighting up the earth. How could it do that? He could here water all about him, yet he could not see the source. Where is it doing that?

He was resting. Why he did not truly understand, yet his mind had told him that propping himself up a nearby rock and taking a break from his arduous journey was a good idea. His forehead was wet and felt hot. Why though? His hands were wet as well, and his breaths had become deeper and more urgently needed than before.

Why was this happening?

_Am I… dying?_

The feelings the young boy had were feelings that needed to be answered. Knowledge, emotions, descriptions. How did he not know all these things yet… know them?

* * *

The shadow towered over him. It was not tall but very wide, and the figure who had stopped to notice the sleeping boy contemplated him for a moment. Its blank eyes beamed brightly, its flabby hands clutching tightly onto the large traveller's backpack rooted firmly on its back.

"Would make good stew, yes?"


End file.
